AppFolio

AppFolio has been named Real Property Management's “Vendor of the Year” for the second year in a row 🏆 This honor comes straight from the RPM franchisee community: operators who put the AppFolio Performance Platform to work for their businesses and deliver better outcomes for their investors and communities every day. Earning it again tells us we’re building trust with this community the right way, and succeeding in keeping the people we serve at the center of every decision we make. Thank you to Real Property Management and the RPM franchisee community for the recognition and trust, and to every AppFolian whose dedication made this possible. #performanceliveshere #rpm #appfolianway

We asked AppFolio customers attending this year’s NARPM Annual Convention to share their biggest takeaways from conversations on the floor. Three themes came up again and again: • The AI conversation has moved from “What is AI?” to “Do I need to build it myself or is it already there?” • Operators are seeking new ways to stay ahead of evolving owner and resident expectations • Many see resident experience improvements as the first step towards delivering real performance All of them point to the Property Performance Gap: the distance between what operators need to succeed and what their tools allow them to achieve. Closing it means moving beyond task-based property management to Real Estate Performance Management (RPM), where AI-native architecture transforms data into real-time insights and frees up teams to build the trust and connections that only people can. Watch the video to hear more operator takeaways in their own words. #narpm26 #rpm

The moment the AI hands off the conversation to a human is the one that determines whether residents will trust your use of AI or not. In her recent article on HousingWire, Cat Allday offers a clear way to decide where assistance should come from first: AI takes the lead when a wrong answer is quick to correct; a person steps in when a mistake is hard to undo. Real estate operators should have the control to set that line themselves and adjust it as their teams build confidence. See Cat’s post below for more of her thoughts and a link to the full article ⬇️

79% of rental property owners say they’d consider self-managing if AI made it easier. Property managers think that number is 36%. That 43-point gap was one of the most striking findings we shared at 2026 Annual Convention of National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM)in Las Vegas. AI won’t replace property managers. But that gap tells us we need to get much clearer about the value owners are paying for. Across four sessions on owner expectations, AI, performance management, and insurance, the same idea kept coming up. Doing the work and improving the outcome are two different things. My latest article connects those sessions and lays out how property managers can prove their value as AI makes self-managing easier by delivering real performance. Curious what you think.

Watching a room full of operators build their first Realm-X Flow was one of my favorite moments at FUTURE by AppFolio this year. The best part was that it wasn’t a one-off. Moments like this came to life again and again in our Performance Labs: hands-on sessions where operators tested AppFolio innovations in a demo site and worked through real scenarios alongside the AppFolians and partners who know the AppFolio Performance Platform best.nbsp; Across 19 labs, we logged nearly 2,000 customer check-ins, and the four biggest rooms all centered on the new Realm-X and Flows. That’s a clear signal of where operators see the most value and where they want to build next. Operators didn’t come to FUTURE just to hear what’s possible. They came to put Real Estate Performance Management (RPM) into practice, to adopt new features, to build together, and to take fresh insights, new habits, and new ways of thinking back to their teams. Now, they’re delivering better outcomes for their residents, building more trust with their investors, and driving real performance that compounds for their businesses. Curious to see what operators were building? Get a hands-on tour of the new Realm-X: https://lnkd.in/gTutcJTE

Last week, we brought the latest AppFolio innovations to NARPM Annual in Las Vegas, and spent the week with operators looking to deliver more value for their residents, investors, and teams. From booth demos and one-on-one meetings to breakout sessions and poolside conversations, one theme stayed consistent: operators are excited to adopt new technology, build new habits, and put Real Estate Performance Management (RPM) into practice. Those conversations made our week! Thank you to the National Association of Residential Property Managers and to everyone who stopped by our booth, joined a session, or celebrated with us and Second Nature at our After Party 💙 Swipe through to see a few of our favorite moments 👇 #narpm26 #performanceliveshere #rpm

What were the biggest takeaways from FUTURE by AppFolio? 👀 Join Sean Forster, Lauren Suggett, and Neil Cadman, President and Principal at Cadman Group, for a free one-hour webinar where they’ll revisit the innovations, industry conversations, and standout insights from this year’s conference. Whether you couldn’t make it to San Diego or just want a refresher, this event recap has you covered! 📍 Inside FUTURE 2026: A Recap of the Ideas Shaping Real Estate 🗓️ Thursday, October 22 🕑 11 AM PT / 2 PM ET Register now 👉 https://lnkd.in/ee3ud63G #appfoliofuture #webinar

AppFolio is a NARPM Affiliate Member of the Year 🏆 This award recognizes Affiliate Members who go above and beyond for the NARPM community, and it comes from the chapter leaders and committees who know its members best. Receiving this award reflects our commitment to building trust every day. We believe trust is earned by showing up and following through, one conversation and commitment at a time. That’s why we partner with real estate operators, share what we know, and guide them as they adopt Real Estate Performance Management (RPM) to drive better outcomes for their residents, investors, and teams. Thank you to the National Association of Residential Property Managers, to the leaders who recognized our team, and to every NARPM member who has made space for us in their community 💙 #narpm26 #thisisperformance #rpm

Meaningful change in real estate starts with people who show up for their communities. Check out Katelyn Surak Graumann’s latest article to see what made this year’s FUTUREist Award winners stand out in a competitive field of nominees. #futureistawards #appfoliofuture